English Heritage preserves last century’s office buildings

Fourteen post-war office buildings have acquired Grade II-listed building status, as announced by English Heritage. A building can only attract the listed status after it has reached 30 years since construction. Hence English Heritage has been taking into consideration buildings dating from between 1964 and 1984. 

The office buildings include 1 Finsbury Avenue and Space House in London, Mountbatten House (formerly Gateway House) in Basingstoke, Central Electricity Generating Board in Bristol, Alpha Tower in Birmingham, former Midland Bank in Liverpool, Bank House in Leeds, and IBM Pilot Head Office in Cosham, all representing particular architectural features both of their time, but distinct within it.

English Heritage originally selected 23 buildings from their research, to present to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, for consideration for Grade-II listed status. 

The reason for allocating the listed-building status to this collection of buildings, according to English Heritage, is to ‘show how architecture has adapted to recent radical changes in how we work’. Elements such as pre- and post-computer workspaces have played a part, with the shift to open-plan working being one of the aspects that EH wish to preserve. 

The designation as listed building will include a detailed and specific assessment and description of the particular elements that contribute towards each building’s listed status.  

Listed building status helps to mark and celebrate a building’s architectural and historic interest as well as bringing the building within the planning system and controlling future development. English Heritage is responsible for recommending potential buildings, while the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport takes the final decision. 

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